Sovrn Research Shows ‘Engaged Time’ Delivers More Than Twice the Attention of Viewable Time

New research from publisher technology provider Sovrn shows that “Engaged Time” offers a better way to predict ad performance than the current industry standard. The IAB defines a viewable impression as one where at least 50% of the ad’s area is displayed onscreen for at least one second. Engaged Time goes significantly further by combining viewability with 45 distinct on-page consumer interactions, to measure when an ad has both the chance to be seen and when that person is actively engaged with the content.
“The data clearly shows that Engaged Time delivers more than double the attention compared to viewability alone,” said Babac Vafaey, Vice President, Signal Product at Sovrn. “While viewability is useful in measuring ad inventory quality, it doesn’t go far enough to demonstrate performance. Viewability only measures whether an ad is potentially visible – not whether it’s actually seen or noticed by an engaged person.”
A recent study found Engaged Time captures 2.6 times more attention than viewable time. Sovrn partnered with demand side platform Avocet and attention technology company Lumen to analyze the correlation between Engaged Time and attention. Using Lumen’s eye tracking data and predictive modeling, the study identified signs that a reader actually looked at an ad when it was in view. Sovrn’s Signal technology was applied to measure 45 distinct on-page actions and confirm that the reader engaged with the page while the ad was in view. The data showed that Engaged Time captures 2.6 times more verified attention than viewable time (see Chart 1). The difference in performance is shown over time in Chart 2.
Sovrn’s Signal technology arms publishers with insights to measure, compare, and monetize viewability and Engaged Time. To learn more about this research and the methodology used, please visit the Sovrn blog.
About Sovrn
Sovrn provides products and services to thousands of online publishers to help them understand, operate and grow their business. Sovrn is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, with offices in New York, San Diego and London.  
With thousands of customers deploying advertising, affiliate marketing, and data products across 40,000 websites, Sovrn reaches over 300 million active consumers across more than 11 billion pageviews every day. Sovrn has been a leader in online publisher technology since its founding and has been recognized by IAB, JICWEBS, and TAG for its role in combating fraud and promoting pro-transparency initiatives. Sovrn is dedicated to helping content creators do more of what they love, and less of what they don’t.
Press contact: press@sovrn.com
Source: Sovrn